


The Scheming Captain

by CrystalDiaty



Series: The Love Series [5]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: F/M, Kuroo/OC - Freeform, Romance, Smut, haikyuu!! - Freeform, mature - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-16
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-18 18:48:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,309
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29494587
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrystalDiaty/pseuds/CrystalDiaty
Relationships: Tetsuro Kuroo/OC
Series: The Love Series [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2124618





	1. We Are Absolutely Nuts

"Audrey." I groan as my best friend Yaku pokes my cheek trying to get me to react to him. "Come on. I'm not going to stop until you acknowledge me." He continues to poke me until I grab his wrist and pin it to the desk. "What<! What could you possibly want?!" "Wow, ow. Somebody's in a bad mood. Anyway, now that you actually reacted to me, I wanted to ask you to come watch practice. We need a new manager and you know a lot about volleyball so-" "No." "Oh come on! You know what you're doing when it comes to sports and you'd be great morale for the team!" "Right, my bright sunshiney self will be great morale for your team. You've got to do better than that." "We have a lot of flirts on the team and they'll strive to do their best to impress you. Plus since you actually know what you're talking about they'll look for your approval as well." "Why would I sign up for a job where all I do is have a bunch of random guys stare at me?" "They're not random. They're my friends and so are you. I would never put you in a situation where I thought that you'd be uncomfortable in and you know it. Just please think about it." "Fine, I'll think about it, but don't get your hopes up." "I'll take it. If you do decide you want to watch practice meet us in the gym right after class alright?" I just nod and place my head on my desk. I don't really care about volleyball so I don't even know what he's thinking. I haven't played in years and I would rather just spend time in my room listening to music, instead of getting invested in something that will eventually fail. I sigh as I rack my brain for any reason to go to their practice tonight. I mean I could go just as a favor to Yaku. It's not like I have to join as their manager. He only invited me to watch the practice, nothing more. The bell rings and I'm kind of shocked about how quickly my class went by. I stand up and walk out of my class towards the gym. What could go wrong?

I open the doors to the gym and sit down on the bleachers, going relatively unnoticed. Or so I thought. When I sit down in utter silence I become painfully aware of the multiple stares directed at me. I keep a straight face and wait for them to continue. They don't however and just continue to stare at me. "Audrey! You actually showed!" "Yeah, so much for not being uncomfortable." I say as I glance at the group staring at me. They quickly avert their eyes. Well, most of them do. I can still tell that a few of them are still looking at me. "Oh don't worry about them. They're just staring because you've never been here before. Plus like I said before, you're attractive so of course, they're staring." "When you said you had a bunch of flirts, are you sure you weren't talking about yourself?" "Hey! No need to state the obvious!" "What's going on Yaku? Who's this?" "Ah Kuroo, this is my childhood best friend Audrey Valentine! We met when we were four and she helped me learn volleyball as we practiced through the years!" "Did you have any coffee today Yaku?" "Of course I did lovely best friend of mine!" "Thought so." I turn to the guy Yaku called Kuroo and hold my hand out. "I'm Audrey nice to meet you." "Tetsurō Kuroo, likewise. So, given the fact that Yaku said you practiced volleyball and we've been looking for a new manager, I take it you're here to check out the position huh?" "More or less. Yaku just invited me to watch practice and if I wanted to join I should." "Well, since I'm the captain I'll put in a good word for you." "Thanks." Something pulls his attention away from me and he slightly bows to go check it out. Everyone has finally gotten back to practice and I notice someone a few places away from me. Is he playing a videogame? I notice his stature and the way his concentration is focused solely on the game. If he's that focused he probably applies that kind of analysis to the game. He obviously isn't a spiker or a libero so that really only leaves a few positions. However, given the fact that he probably has amazing accuracy that leaves only one position left. I move closer to him and say a little bit too loudly.

"So, you're a setter huh?" My eyebrows furrow when his head shoots up to look at me in shock. I also realize that everything went quiet again. I look back over to the team and realize that they're also staring at me with looks of shock plastered all over their faces. Except of course for Yaku who just has a smile on his face. "What?" "How did you know that?" "Process of elimination. Plus, given your stature and the fact that you were so concentrated on your game I figured that you had to take some kind of skill from that. So, it was either concentration or accuracy, or both. Someone who has a semi-weak stature, great accuracy, and concentration, and plus the fact that you aren't practicing so you probably don't have a lot of stamina, that only leaves one position, setter." Their jaws just drop further and Yaku's smile just gets bigger. "See, I told you guys! She does this with pretty much everything she sees. It's perfect for analyzing plays and helping us improve in our form!" "I didn't do anything special. Anyone could've guessed his position." "No, they couldn't!" All of them yell at me at the same time causing me to almost fall of the bleachers given the fact that it was dead silent. "There's no way anyone could've figured that out! It's Kenma! He's a blank slate! No offense!" Kenma obviously didn't hear him given the fact that he's already back to playing his game. "Who are you again?" "Oh, I'm Taketora Yamamoto. Sorry for yelling." "It's fine I was just curious. Anyways I gotta get going Yaku." "Why? You don't have a curfew and you live alone. Plus, it's not like you have to worry about homework. Just stick around for a bit longer. We're almost finished anyway." "Wow, you really don't take no for an answer when you're high on coffee huh?" 'Whaddya mean I'm fine! Plus I took your keys so you can't leave until I do anyway." "You do know I have a spare right?" He's about to reply but Kuroo cuts him off and begins talking to me again. "You're free to leave if you want to but please consider being our manager. Yaku, give her back her keys." I take my keys and leave the gym saying goodbye to the team as well. I silently walk home lost in my own thoughts about this job.

I wake up early the next morning and just decide to get to school ahead of the morning rush. I walk up to the school gates and just stand there until a teacher comes to unlock them. I lean against the wall just enjoying the silence until I hear a familiar voice yell out my name. "Hey Y/N! Did you decide on whether or not you're going to be our manager?!" "Hey, Yamamoto right?" "Yes, now answer the question! Please tell me you decided to join!" "Please stop yelling. No, I haven't decided if I want to join or not. Why are you here this early anyway?" "Oh, I'm here to practice with the rest of the team. I can let you in if you want and you can hang out in the gym until classes start." "Really? Thanks, that'd be great." "No problem, we sneak people in all the time so it's nothing new." We walk into the gym and I silently sit back down on the bleachers letting people do whatever they normally do. I notice a super tall guy though who seems to be struggling when timing his spikes or spiking in general. Kenma's setting to him just fine but he can't seem to hit the ball. "Hey, big guy." He turns to me with a confused look on his face. "If you want to properly spike the ball you need to make sure to explode off the feet instead of relying purely on your legs when making your jump and swing your arms forward to create momentum. Pull back your striking hand and hit the ball with the center of your hand. You're not gaining enough momentum when actually hitting the ball that's why it's only going into the net despite your height." "Well, Kenma's already told me all of that I just can't get the form down." "Okay look here." I motion for him to give me the ball and I ask Kenma to set to me. Luckily I'm in sneakers so I won't be falling on my ass. He sets the ball to me and I spike it over the net. "That's the proper or at least normal form for a spike. Now, this is how you're hitting it." Kenma sets another ball to me and I hit it with the same form as the guy. "Do you see the difference?" "You jumped differently and it looks like you weren't ready to spike until the peak of your jump." "Exactly you need to work on how you jump and your timing when you actually pull back your arm to spike."

The bell rings cutting off my semi lecture. I hadn't even realized how much time has passed. "Bye guys." "W-Wait! I'm Lev Haiba! Thank you for your help!" "Anytime." "Lev, I already told you how to do that stuff." "Yeah, but you didn't actually give me a visual Kenma. She's awesome I hope she becomes our manager." "Uh, guys I can still hear you. Get to class before you're late." "Right sorry!" I walk into my class and just happen to sit next to another volleyball club member. "Are you going to be our manager?!" Is, is he actually whisper yelling at me? During class? "Who the hell are you?!" "I'm Yūki Shibayama! Please join our team. What you did with Lev this morning was outstanding. Not even Kuroo could get him to spike in the right form." "For the last time, I'm thinking about it!" "Ms. Valentine! Do you have something to add?" The teacher looks at me with an unamused face. "No. Actually, can I just go? You know I already know this stuff." "You better show up for exams." "Thanks." I get up, grab my stuff and speed walk out of the class. I'm walking down the hallways trying to avoid any other members of the club that may be out and about begging me to be their manager. I think I'm in the clear until I run smack dab into Kuroo. "Hey, Audrey did you-" "No! I haven't decided on whether or not I want to be your manager so could all of you please stop asking it's been two days!" He bursts out laughing, doubling over and clutching his stomach. "I-I was just asking if you were ditching considering that you and I are probably the only ones out of class. Are they harassing you that much?" He still desperately clutches his stomach trying to get his breath back. "Yes, yes they are." "Jeeze. Sorry about that. You just really impressed them yesterday and this morning so they really want you to join." "What about you? Did I impress you?" I lean closer as I ask that looking into his eyes. An obvious blush comes onto his face as he tries to look anywhere but my face. "U-Uh yeah, y-you did." I lean back with a smirk on my face. "I think I'll join you guys. Do I have to sign something or can I just talk to your coach?" "Just talk to the coach. Welcome aboard Audrey. We are absolutely nuts."


	2. You Should Stick Up For Yourself

"Thank you for your help today!" I smile and shake off their thanks. "You guys don't have to thank me. It's fun helping you out and critiquing your moves." Yaku walks up and slaps me on the back. "Don't say that! You make it sound like you enjoy our suffering." "But, I do." I laugh and dodge Yaku as he tries to slap me again. "See you guys tomorrow, don't forget about your form when practicing!" I yell out as I sprint out of the gym and out the school gates. I sigh in content as a breeze blows past me and cool me down. Instead of heading straight to my house, I decide to take a detour and walk through the park. I admit, it's probably not the best idea to walk through the park late at night all alone but I don't really fear anything that comes near me. I also don't really care if someone attacks me, it's not like it's going to affect me in the long run anyway. I sit on the park bench just enjoying the breeze and listening to music. I look up at the sky and just watch the stars as I stay in a complete state of peace. Well, that didn't last long. I'm picked up and dragged towards an alleyway by my forearms. I can tell that they're probably kids from my high school girls and boys judging by their grip and size of their hands. I'm not surprised that this happened. The past few weeks, ever since I joined the volleyball club I've been getting bullied pretty ruthlessly. Hell if I know why. I just drag my feet and I can tell that they're getting annoyed that I'm not willingly going with them, despite the fact that they asked so nicely for me to follow them into a dark, creepy alleyway in the middle of the night. "Stop dragging your feet bitch!" "Hurry up!" "You know, for people forcefully taking me somewhere you're awfully loud about it." I can tell now that there's for sure at least one guy and one girl who are now angrily pushing and shoving me against the alleyway wall.

"Can I ask why I'm about to be assaulted or are you just gonna go ahead and do it?" I get an answer to that question when I get a hard backhand slap right across my face. The next thing that comes is a swift punch to the stomach and a kick to the ribs. I don't care enough to fight back. He's not strong enough to break my ribs or cause internal damage so it's not worth fighting back unless he does inflict actual damage. I proceed to take every slap, kick and punch that hits my body and I eventually drop to the ground. All of a sudden he stops and the girl kneels down to my level and takes my chin in her hand, analyzing my face. "How did you of all people end up with the volleyball team. You're too ugly for one of them to fuck you, and you don't seem to have anything special about you. So, why have they all taken an interest in you? Especially their Kuroo. Do you know how annoying it is to hear him talk about you in class? You are absolutely nothing, a loner with no friends or family." She stands up but not before slapping me again, just for good measure. "Stay away from him or I'll make sure he doesn't stop next time." I chuckle once I finally get it. "So, that's why you've sicked your psycho squad on me. You're just the average jealous school girl who's mad that she can't get what she wants and instead of actually trying to obtain it you try to destroy everything around it instead. You're classic." She goes to hit me again but something stops her. She looks horrified at something. A wave of relief washes over me as I hear a deep, angry-sounding voice ring out through the alley. "What the hell do you think you're doing to her?!" "K-Kuroo! It's not what it looks like! I was just protecting her from this bully! I was helping her!" I roll my eyes and shift into a more comfortable position trying to ignore the shooting pain in my ribs. "Please, I just watch you try to hit her again! I also heard you threatening her! You stay the absolute hell away from both of us or I'm going straight to the cops. Forget getting you expelled, I'll get you arrested for assault!" They both run off when he threatens to call the cops and he himself quickly runs over to me to check if I can stand.

"Jeeze, Audrey! Are you alright! Holy shit your bleeding!" He quickly tries to help me up but the pain in my ribs and legs sends me tumbling back to the ground. "I'm fine. Thank you for the help, I just need a minute to catch my breath." "You need more than a minute, you can't stand. Do you need me to call someone?" "No, my house is just down the street. Besides, it's not like there's anyone to call. Plus, it's not the first time this has happened. I'm used to it by now so the pain will numb out soon." "This has happened before?! When?! You should tell someone!" "Kuroo, please stop yelling. This happened before I joined the club but it just got even more physical than before. I can defend myself but I only do so if I know that they're going to cause permanent damage." "Why didn't you tell any of us? We would've helped you." "It's not necessary to give you more pressure than you already have with the club itself." "You're not a burden to us you know? And we'll defend you if you're in trouble or if you defend yourself. You should stick up for yourself if you can. It scared the crap out of me when I heard voices and walked around the corner just to see you struggling to breathe on the ground." "I'll think about it." He sighs and shakes his head sitting next to me patiently waiting for me to try to stand again. Please, don't tell me he figured out that I can't walk right now. "Kuroo go home, it's late and it's cold, and you have a practice game tomorrow. I'll see you at school." "I'm not going to leave until I know you're home safe. So, if you're really fine stand up and start walking to your house." He sits there waiting, obviously aware that I can't. "Fine, I can't walk." He silently stands up and picks me up bridal style, much to my surprise. "K-Kuroo! Put me down. What are you doing?!" He laughs as he walks towards the direction of my house with both of our bags over his shoulder. "I never thought I'd hear you stutter. You always act so calm and collected. Apparently, you can show some emotion. Anyway, your house is this way right?" "Yes."

He walks me straight to my house and he sets me down so I can unlock the door. I get ready to say goodbye but he only picks me up again and walks into my house. "Idiot we're here! Put me down!" "I will, in your bed. Where is it?" I sigh in frustration. I hate having people take care of me so this is just annoying as hell. I'm thankful for his concern but this is just going overboard. I can't exactly escape from his grasp though so I might as well go along with it. "Upstairs, first door on the left." "Great!" He smiles and walks up the stairs and straight into my room. "Do you need anything? Water, rag, clothes, anything?" "No, you've done enough. Thank you so much though Kuroo. I don't think I would've been able to get home tonight so thank you for helping me." "No problem. You're apart of this team and you have my number. Call if you need anything alright? I'll see you tomorrow." He flashes me one more smile before leaving. I lean back and stare at the ceiling. I find myself smiling at the thought of what Kuroo did today. He really didn't need to do any of that but he saved my ass. Shit, now I owe him. I slowly get up and use my nightstand and the wall to keep me up as I make my way to the bathroom and turn on the shower. I let the water run over my cuts and bruises trying to soothe the agitated skin. I won't need stitches but I should bandage the deeper cuts. I spend a good twenty minutes in the shower and thank god that I have seemingly endless hot water. That or I just have a fever because I'm still really warm. I look at myself in the mirror and realize that the water washed off all of the concealer on the bruises all over my face. The main thing concealed was my black eye that I got three days ago when that psycho tried to slam my head into a locker, but she missed and the base of my eye only hit the corner of it, giving me a particularly nasty bruise. "Hey sorry I forgot my bag in your room, and I only realized it by the time I got home." I don't answer and lock the door to the bathroom when I hear Kuroo's voice. "Why didn't you just text me I would've brought it to you tomorrow?!" "I've got a paper I need to finish by tonight and it's in my bag. Sorry." I lightly bang my head against the door but I completely forgot that the lock doesn't work and my door tends to malfunction at the worst times.

I accidentally push the door open and am sent tumbling to the ground, in a towel, without concealer on, right at Kuroo's feet. "Are you alright?!" "Yeah, the door just, doesn't work. "Audrey, your face. Your chest. You're covered in wounds. Bad ones." "Can we maybe talk about this when I'm not in a towel and in regular clothes?" "And wearing concealer?" I nod at his addition and motion for him to leave the room so I can get dressed. I take a deep breath before opening the door again to let him in. I didn't bother covering up the bruises given the fact that he's already seen them. I sit on the base of my bed and he kneels in front of me to tilt my chin in his direction so he can analyze the bruises. "So, all of these happened during the six weeks you've been in the club?" I just silently nod, not trusting my voice at the moment. "Who did it?" He asks as he gently caresses my black eye. "The same chick from earlier. She tried to slam my face into a locker but she missed and my eye hit the corner of it." His hand moves down to look at the bruises on my collarbone. "And these?" "It varies. It's either someone's fist or their bat." He eyes the bottom of my tank top and I lift it up slightly to show him my wound-covered ribs. He lets me pull it back down after he gets a good look at them. "Do you know why they do it?" "Well, I just found out today that at least a few of them do it out of jealousy because of how much time I spend with you and the team. As for the others, I have no clue." I look up at him and realize that he's holding back tears while his fists clench so tight that his knuckles turn white. "All of this is because we pressured you to join. You didn't have to go through all of this but we just had to go and basically stalk you till you agreed. I wouldn't blame you if you wanted to quit." "I don't." His head shoots up and he looks me in the eyes with shock written all over his face. "I like you and the team too much to quit and I don't care about the bullies. You're getting more pissed about than I am. I don't want to leave you guys behind." He sighs and takes my hand. "Alright, but let me help you this time okay?" I nod with a smile on my face. "Okay."


	3. I Like You

Kuroo kept to his word when he said that he'd help me. He's been like my personal bodyguard for the past few weeks. He's scared off most if not all of my bullies and has protected me from most physical assaults headed my way. I also kept my word and stayed on the volleyball team. I've been helping out with all of the team's form and skills when it comes to the game itself. Most of the players constantly ask me for help with their studying and grades as well. I don't know why they thought that I knew more than they did but I do my best when they ask. It's honestly surprising how many of them have piss poor grades and yet they manage to stay on the team. I'm sitting on a bench in the school courtyard, skipping class, obviously. All I'm doing is reading my book when it's snatched out of my hand. Well, taken out of my hand. Kuroo decided that he was just going to take my book and see what I was reading. "You could've just asked to see the book if you wanted to read it you know." He looks away from the cover of the book and back at me with a smile. "I know. You just looked so focused that I didn't want to break your concentration with my annoying voice." "So, instead of breaking my concentration by talking to me, you decide to just take the book out of my hand? Whatever works for you I guess. Also, your voice isn't annoying and it would've been a much more pleasant distraction." He sits down next to me and leans his back against my shoulder while he swings his legs up to relax on the rest of the bench. "You'll fall." "I'll be fine. You have strong core muscles, you can hold me up just fine." "I could just move and let you fall over." "Ah, but you won't. You won't let your friend fall." "Yes, I would. Why do you think I don't have friends?" He chuckles and hands my book back to me. "I gotta get back to class but come to my class after the bell, I'll take you to lunch." I just nod my head as he runs off to his class.

I go to meet him in front of his classroom door only to find him missing and the rest of the females in his class are glaring at me. I quickly turn and start speed walking down the hallway trying to find that idiot rooster head. Just as I reach the stairs I feel a pair of hands on my back that shove me forward. I tumble down the first few steps but I manage to grab the railing and stabilize myself. I look over my shoulder and see a few girls from Kuroo's class glaring down at me. "Are absolutely out of your mind! If you want to beat the shit out of me that's fine, but don't try to fucking kill me over a stupid fucking guy you absolute psychopaths!" They stare at me with shocked expressions on their faces. Of course, I've never even thought about raising my voice but I'll lose my shit if they actually try to kill me. "What?! Are you scared?! You're not so strong when I actually cuss you out and fight back!" I'm still yelling and yelling so loud that I don't even register Kuroo sprinting down the stairs and trying to calm me down. The girls are practically in tears by now and I'm still going. I guess Kuroo didn't know what else to do so he just elected to squat down and fling me over his shoulder. "Hey! Kuroo put me down! I swear to god I'll rip your damn head off! Where are you taking me Kuroo?! Put, me, down!" He doesn't put me down and carries me all the way to the gym and into the supply closet all while I'm kicking and screaming. "I have never been more pissed in my life! Do you wanna die because you're doing a great job of spurring me into killing you if you really want to! Where the hell am I?!" He shuts the supply closet door and throws me onto the gym mats while smirking at my enraged expression. "Wow, was all that pent up from the bullying. I meant I know that I told you to stick up for yourself but tell me next time because that was one hell of a show." "You idiot! Where were you? You told me to meet you at your class and I did, but you weren't there. So, I got halfway pushed down the stairs. Now, where were you?"

He looks at the floor like a sad puppy before looking back up at me. "I'm sorry, I got pulled away by a few of the guys in my class. Now that I think about it they were probably working with those girls and were trying to get me away from you. Anyways, I wasn't that far away and I came running when I heard you screaming. I'm really sorry, I just thought that they needed help loading up the cleaning supplies to clean up the class." I sigh at his dejected face. He's more mad at himself than I am at him. He must care about his friends a lot given the fact that he puts himself in my shoes all the time. He's ready to pounce on anyone for the smallest of things for me and honestly, it makes me wonder why he cares about me so much. "Sorry for yelling at you. I thought that you had set me up and had finally gotten tired of looking after me." His face lights up and he quickly shakes his head. "No, not at all! I like spending time with you so I don't mind looking out for you. Plus, I'm the one who suggested letting me protect you from the bullies in the first place. So, don't worry. I like you too much to-" He covers his mouth and his eyes widen as he realizes what he just said. "I-I'm gonna go h-help the team get ready for practice. S-See you there." He doesn't wait for me to respond and sprints out of the supply closet and right into the gym. I'm pretty sure that he forgot which supply closet that we were in because I see him groan when he realizes that we're both already in the gym so he can't separate from me for now. I walk out, lost in thought as to what exactly he meant by that. I mean, he could always just mean that he likes me as a friend or, he could mean that he likes me as in he wants to date me. I sit next to Nekoma's coach and just begin my regular routine. I just observe everyone's movements like normal but I immediately notice that Kuroo was off his game. He's so off of his game that he can't even hit the sets that Kenma gives to him. Kenma notices this as well and just decides to focus on Lev to give Kuroo a break to work o whatever he thought he was going through.

I sigh and stand up slowly walking towards him. "It's been three hours and you haven't hit a single spike. You also can't keep your eyes on the ball because you keep glancing over at me. Do you want to talk about this here or do you want to go outside?" He looks up at me and realizes that he's not going to be able to talk his way out of this one. He also realizes that he won't be able to ignore it either, especially since his performance most likely won't improve unless he gets this off of his chest. He silently stands up and walks outside with me following him closely behind. "Alright, I'm not going to say anything. I'm not going to judge. You can say whatever you want to me about what you may or may not be feeling. Then, I will respond and the both of us are going to go back inside where you will finally start being able to practice properly. Alright?" He silently nods and takes a deep breath before speaking. "I like you, a lot. Ever since I started protecting you from those psychos I just started to like you a lot more than a friend. I noticed your habits and the way your face lights up every time you read something interesting in one of your books. I began to like how you manage to come up with sarcastic quips to make everyone laugh or calm everyone down when they're stressed. I love how you don't take anyone's frustrated comments towards you personally and help anyone who asks for it. I noticed that I love so much about you that I started thinking about you even when I'm not around you. I guess that's why I'm screwing up so much in practice because I blurted out the fact that I liked you. I kept glancing at you because I thought that you were going to be mad or offended. Okay, I'm done." I just stand there with my jaw dropped in shock. I can't believe what I just heard. He likes me? Really? He takes my silence as rejection and he silently turns to open the gym door again. I slam it shut before he could walk through the door. "I like you too. I like your protective mode when any random thing tries to hurt me. I love the fact that you can keep smiling whenever something awful happens. I love how you never lose your cool even when your team is pushing your buttons like crazy. So, I'm not mad or offended, because I like you too." He stands there shocked as well before the gym door opens and sends me tumbling back onto the gym floor.

"Ow." "Oh my god, Audrey! I'm so sorry I didn't know that you were leaning against the door! Are you alright?!" "I'm fine Yaku don't worry about it. We were just about to come back inside-" "No we weren't. Let the team know that we'll be back in a bit Yaku." Kuroo cuts me off and grabs my hand, dragging me to a secluded part of the school where the teachers wouldn't catch us outside the gym. He quickly pulls me closer to him and inspects my face and body making sure I'm not hurt. "Is there going to be a day when I don't have to inspect you for bruises?" "Hopefully. At least I don't have as many as when you first met me." He smiles and gently cups my cheek. He hesitantly leans in closer to me, his eyes glancing at my lips for only a brief moment before he kisses me. It only lasts for a second and he quickly pulls away after, hiding his face in his jacket while looking at anything other than me. "W-Well we should probably get back to practice huh?" I pull him back towards me and our lips slam together. He grabs the back of my head and pushes me against the wall, deepening the kiss in the process. He pulls away breathlessly and chuckles. "That's one way to tell me that you don't want to go back yet." I lightly slap him on the chest and spot the time on the clock behind him. "We do have to go now though. Now that we've gotten you out of your funk, you can actually practice." He gives me one last kiss before we make our way back to the gym. When we walk in though, everyone seems to have already gone home. I sigh in annoyance because I know the coach let them go home and I don't have the authority to override him. Kuroo pinches my cheek and walks into the gym while taking off his jacket. "Come on, I know you know how to toss a ball so help me spike a few before we lock up." I silently agree and we keep practicing until a teacher yells at us to leave. We both nod and pack up our stuff while the teacher watches over us to make sure we actually leave. Kuroo hands her the key and we both walk out of the gym and out of the school gates, walking hand in hand all the way to my house.


	4. Date Time

It's been a few weeks since Kuroo confessed to me and we've been spending as much time together as we can. Since they had a lot of volleyball games coming up neither of us have had time to actually stop and go out on a date or just do something together that isn't related to school. I'm not bothered by it in the slightest since we do spend time together just not in the average couple way. We go over strategies together, sit together during practice and he always walks me home and still sticks by me during school to ward off the bullies. "Hey, Audrey? D-Do you think that m-maybe y-you and I c-could go on a d-date?" I tilt my head in confusion as one of my classmates stutters out a date invitation. "Thank you for the offer but I'm already dating someone. I'm sorry." I bow slightly trying to let him down as easily as possible. "O-Oh it's fine! You don't need to apologize thank you for hearing me out in the first place." The bell rings and he waves goodbye as we go to our classes. That's the fifth invitation this week and it's only Wednesday. I find it odd that when I'm not dating someone, everyone stays far away from me but when I am dating someone I get asked out every day. Maybe I just give off a single vibe or something. I don't know. I go through my classes as usual but I get the feeling that there's something off going on here. EVeryone's unusually quiet and I feel like someone's watching me at all times. Usually, I would brush it off because it's Kuroo but I haven't seen him all day so now it's just unsettling. I walk to my final class trying to ignore the creepy stares that people are throwing my way and I'm stopped by two random students I've never seen before. "You can't go in there yet." "What?" They look around for a few seconds. "Alright, now you can go in." They step aside leaving me very confused.

I sigh and open the door. I'm immediately hit with roses and the pleasant smell of incense wafting through the room. I look around the room and realize that it's covered in candles and red balloons with Kuroo in a suit and tie in the middle of it. He smiles when he sees me and walks over to me. He takes my hand and pulls me into a hug. "Audrey Valentine I would like to formally invite you to go out on a date with me to a fine restaurant downtown on Friday night at eight o'clock. Do you accept?" He has this smug smile on his face, knowing this is cheesy. I chuckle and hug him tighter. "I accept your invitation Kuroo." I get the crap scared out of me when I hear a bunch of people around us squeal and cheer in joy. I furrow my eyebrows in confusion when I realize that the teacher isn't there. I turn to Kuroo. "How did you get the teacher to let you light all of these candles and set up this whole love-fest?" He chuckles and places a hand on the nape of his neck. "I didn't. I had a few of the guys stall him so we should probably start cleaning this up before I get detention." I lightly slap him on the arm before reaching up to ruffle his hair. "If I get detention because of you, you can kiss that date goodbye." He gives a worried smile before quickly cleaning everything up and hiding the balloons and candles in the closet or giving them to his teammates to hide in their backpacks or take to their next class. All of the students quickly filter into the class and sit in their designated seats including Kuroo and me. We all do a final check and sit down right as our teacher walks into the classroom and sits down with an annoyed and suspicious look on his face. Luckily, no one ratted us out and we continue class like normal. Everyone is throwing glances at Kuroo and me though, almost causing the teacher to ask what the hell is going on. I'm sure Kuroo would proudly brag that he asked me out but would most likely spill the beans about the potential fire hazard he put in the classroom. He keeps his mouth shut though and we go through the next two days like normal waiting for our date Friday night.

When Friday rolls around we both go through the day like normal and Kuroo walked me home as usual. I quickly walk inside and take a shower. I put a little bit of makeup on and the new skin-tight dress and heels that I bought to wear for the dinner. I sit on my couch in the living room waiting for Kuroo to come pick me up in a few minutes. To be fair, it's been like two hours since he dropped me off and I had to make sure that I actually looked good. The loud knock on my door and Kuroo's groan in pain sends me speed walking to my door. I open my door and see him doubled over while holding his nose and rubbing his forehead. "Kuroo, what happened?" "I well, I faceplanted on your door because I tripped while walking up the steps." I try to contain my laughter at the thought. He's usually so smooth when it comes to anything romantic so it's kind of funny to see him be a little bit of a clutz. "Do we have time to ice that down or should we go?" He stops to take in my appearance and I snap my fingers in front of him to snap him out of his trance. "Hello? Kuroo? Can we ice that down or do we need to leave?" "U-Uh, this doesn't need ice let's just get there early so we can make sure we make our reservation. You look really gorgeous by the way." I smile and take in his appearance as well. He's wearing a different tux than before with no tie and the top two buttons of his collared shirt are unbuttoned. He looks really attractive. "Thank you, You're looking quite handsome yourself." I give him a peck on the cheek as I make my way to his car. He jogs ahead of me and opens the car door for me. He hops in after me and starts driving us to the restaurant. I know that it's a bit of a drive to get downtown from my house so I hope he's fine with the gas and mileage this will probably take. As if reading my mind Kuroo breaks the silence in the car. "If I wasn't alright with driving you there I wouldn't have asked you to go in the first place. Don't worry so much I've got everything planned out so just sit back and relax." I smile at him and enjoy the rest of the long trip to the restaurant while talking to him and making jokes along the way.

We get to the restaurant about ten minutes before our reservation. Kuroo tosses his keys to the valet and takes my hand as we walk inside. We're seated almost immediately and a young waiter comes to take our order. We both notice however that the waiter is being a bit of a flirt. He keeps coming back to our table without food or drinks and starts talking to me and only me while asking kind of personal questions. "So, do you come here often? No, that was a stupid question I would remember you coming in here if you did." 'T-Thanks um-" "anyways do you go to school around here?" "No, I don't." "Ah, a special occasion then." He luckily gets called away by one of his peers so I have time to relax and talk to Kuroo. When I look at him though I realize that his fists are clenched tightly and he's barely keeping his composure. I put my hand on his trying to get him to calm down. I realize that he hasn't said anything by now because he'll probably lose his shit if he does. "Kuroo do you want me to call the manager over and request someone else." He nods while clenching his jaw. I do just that and we get a waitress this time but that waiter is definitely persistent and he keeps coming back over to our table and just making me genuinely uncomfortable. "Sorry I got resigned but we can still talk. I don't have very many tables to worry about." "Um I think I'm just gonna eat-" He cuts me off again. "It's okay we can talk while you're eating. Hey, maybe I'll eat with you-" A loud bang on our table turns everyone's attention towards the three of us and my attention back towards Kuroo who looks like he's about to kill someone. "She's telling you to leave and if you don't get that then understand that I'm telling you to leave. Right now." My eyes widen at his tone and I scoot closer to him and place my hand on his shoulder to prevent him, for now, from getting up and attacking the guy. He also seemed thrown off by Kuroo's tone and elected to smartly stand up and quickly leave us to our meal without provoking Kuroo even more than he already has. I feel Kuroo relax and he wraps an arm around my waist for the rest of the dinner just making sure that I'm safe and secure right next to him. After that, the rest of our meal was fine and delicious.

After we eat Kuroo takes the keys from our valet and starts driving us back. It's a relatively normal car ride but there's been a newfound awkwardness ever since the whole incident at the table. I notice that he takes a detour from the usual route home and we end up driving to a park. "Um Kuroo, why are we here?" He grips the steering wheel and takes a deep breath. "I just wanted to go to a quiet place and collect my thoughts before ending this mess of a date. I'm really sorry for flipping out on that waiter, you just looked so uncomfortable and I just kind of lost it when he said that he'd eat with us or should I say when he said he'd eat with you. I hope I didn't scare you, that really wasn't my intention." I give him a gentle smile and place one of my hands on his. "You didn't scare me Kuroo you were just protecting me and I thank you for that. You're right I was very uncomfortable and truth be told if you didn't threaten him he probably would've eaten with us and ruined the date entirely so I wasn't afraid of you when you stood up for me and I'm not scared of you now." He sighs in relief and pulls me in for a kiss. He pulls away and opens his door. "I also wanted to show you this park at night it's really pretty." He shuts his door and walks around the car to open mine. We walk through the park making pleasant conversation and he wraps his jacket around me when the temperature starts to drop and the wind picks up speed. We walk back to the car and just relax there for a bit not really wanting this date to end. We're talking about really anything when Kuroo asks me a particular question. "Do you want to go back to my place? I've got movies and popcorn." I smile and gladly accept but I noticed something in his eyes as I did. I also thought back to his question and how he said it. Oh yeah, there was definitely lust in both of those areas. My whole demeanor changes when I realize this and I lightly bite my lip trying to remain calm so he doesn't notice the sudden rush of anticipation that shot through me. I glance over at his face and I can tell he's indulging in the anticipation as well. This is going to be a fun night.


End file.
